Shanghai experiences severe impact from Typhoon Bebinca, strongest tempest to strike in seventy years
Typhoon Bebinca struck a commercial district close to a city of 25 million residents roughly at 7:30 a.m. local time. As reported by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC), it brought maximal wind speeds of 130 kilometers per hour (80 mph), equal to a Category 1 tropical cyclone in the Atlantic Ocean.
This typhoon represents the strongest landfall in Shanghai since 1949, as per Chinese state reports.
The China Meteorological Administration activated a level-red typhoon alert, their most extreme warning, on Monday. They warned of strong winds and heavy precipitation affecting numerous regions in eastern China.
The powerful storm has caused travel disruptions for vacationers during the Mid-Autumn festival, which is a multi-day national holiday starting on Sunday.
Since 8 p.m. on Sunday, all departures at Shanghai's two international airports have been halted. Majority of trains and ferry services were suspended, whereas some city highways and bridges were closed.
Several tourist attractions in the city, such as Shanghai Disney Resort, also shut down on Monday.
Since this is an evolving situation, updates and modifications will be made.
The typhoon's landfall in Shanghai has attracted global concern, as it's the first Category 1 tropical cyclone to impact the world's largest city by population since records began. Despite China's efforts to mitigate the impact, with the China Meteorological Administration issuing a level-red alert for the region, the storm has significantly disrupted travel within China, affecting millions of residents in eastern China.
